Holdster comes in four styles, displaying either a stitch or rivet design, and both can come with or without a leather handle

Holdster comes in four styles, displaying either a stitch or rivet design, and both can come with or without a leather handle

Photo: Foggy Notion

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The piggy bank jar.

The piggy bank jar.

Photo: Lauren Elise Donaldson, Courtesy Of Ulysses Press

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Cut each wine cork in half. These will be the feet and base for the pig. Hot-glue the four cork pieces to the side of the jar. Position them so that the pig will be stable.

Cut each wine cork in half. These will be the feet and base for the pig. Hot-glue the four cork pieces to the side of the jar. Position them so that the pig will be stable.

Photo: Lauren Elise Donaldson, Courtesy Of Ulysses Press

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Cut the crepe paper worll into many small pieces about 2 inches square. Brush of square of tissue with decoupage glue and apply it to the jar. Continue this process until a single layer cover the entire jar.

Cut the crepe paper worll into many small pieces about 2 inches square. Brush of square of tissue with decoupage glue and apply it to the jar. Continue this process until a single layer cover the entire

Draw a 4-inch circle on the pink felt with fabric pen, and cut the circle out. Cut a small slit for the pig's mouth. Draw two equal triangles on the pink felt for the pig's ears and ut them out. Draw two small triangles on the white felt and cut them out. On the black felt, draw and cut out two small circles for the pig's eyes., and two slightley large curcles for its nose. Place the pink felt over the mouth of the jar and screw on the metal band to hold it in place. Hot glue the other pieces.

Draw a 4-inch circle on the pink felt with fabric pen, and cut the circle out. Cut a small slit for the pig's mouth. Draw two equal triangles on the pink felt for the pig's ears and ut them out. Draw two small

To make the tail, curl a pink pipe cleaner and hot-glue it to the back of the pig.

To make the tail, curl a pink pipe cleaner and hot-glue it to the back of the pig.

Photo: Lauren Elise Donaldson, Courtesy Of Ulysses Press

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America's mason jar a DIY catalyst

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When John Landis Mason obtained a patent for the first clear-glass food preservation container in 1858, he never imagined that nearly two centuries later, his jar would not only retain its practicality in the kitchen but also become a blank canvas for endless creative uses.

The mason jar's eponymous label and design have gone though subtle iterations, but its essence has remained the same: a utilitarian workhorse for a multitude of food-storage tasks, and now a chandelier, cocktail glass, snow globe, terrarium - the list goes on and on.

Since its debut, the jar's popularity has peaked several times, most notably during World War II victory gardeners' preservation efforts, and more recently thanks to renewed interest in gardening and canning. Now the jar has become the unofficial mascot for do-it-yourselfers - you can't surf a wedding blog without catching a glimpse of its homespun cuteness as decor and wedding favor.

Even cynics and those tiring of the trend can't deny the jar's timeless allure. Trendspotting sites like Refinery29 are just as likely to espouse its usefulness as poke fun at its triteness (see the recent infographic "How to Tell You're at a Hipster Wedding": www.refinery29.com/hipster-wedding).

"John Landis Mason would hoot if he knew his jars were used for drinking vessels," says author and food historian William Woys Weaver of Devon, Penn. His book, "Culinary Ephemera: An Illustrated History" (UC Press; 2010), described as a culinary paper trail of American social history, discusses how the invention of the jar moved canning technology from the factory to the kitchen.

Weaver describes Mason's jar as having a cross-cultural appeal. "The jar is one of the icons of American culinary history, and its history belongs to everyone."

After Mason's patent expired in 1879, the Ball brothers began producing the jar, including Mason's name as a way to assure customers that it adhered to the original design. They produced more than 40 million between 1888 and 1961. Antique jars are sought-after collectibles.

Today, New York's Jarden Home Brands is the sole manufacturer of the jars under the Ball and Kerr brands. According to company President and Chief Executive Chris Scherzinger, retail sales have increased 29.5 percent over last year, and about half of that is boosted by alternative uses. The fact that the Ball jar has an official Pinterest page ( www.pinterest.com/ballcanning) boasting more than 2,000 followers attests to the company's awareness of its growing audience and market. "It's a way for Ball to interact with its customers and join in the conversation of alternative uses," says Jarden representative Lindsay Durr.

To Weaver, repurposing this piece of Americana is a way to create a sense of authenticity. "When people lived in extended families and kids had contact with the older generation, a certain amount of knowledge and understanding was passed down, and it created a cultural context," says Weaver. He believes that today many people don't have that context and are missing that sense of continuity. "The mason jar offers a material reality, a touchstone with the past."

This connect-the-dots approach to our roots via gardening and preservation is also spurring the jar's alternative use in the farm-to-table dining scene. At San Francisco's Marlowe it's employed as serve ware for desserts, and a nearby wine pub, Jamber, designed wine flights around the jar's unique sizes.

Cooking in jars

East Bay cookbook author Robin Donovan recently developed recipes for cooking and serving in mason jars for her upcoming book "Put a Lid on It" (Parragon Books; fall 2013). According to Donovan, the challenges of cooking with them are obvious. "Smaller portions cook faster, but cooking in glass, as opposed to metal, takes longer. And making stuff look nice involves lots of layering and interesting color combinations.

"When my editor asked me to develop a pizza recipe, I thought it was ridiculous. But I tried it, and it was delicious and fun to eat. I posted a picture of it on my Facebook page and I got dozens of comments asking for the recipe. So, of course, the recipe made it in the book," says Donovan.

Laurie Zerga, founder of Chef-K, a Bay Area culinary health education program for kids, began collecting mason jars in high school when she taught herself to can. "I used to seek out the blue jars and wonder who used them before me," says Zerga. Now the jar is part of her curriculum. Rigged with screened lid, it becomes a seed sprouter for microgreens.

"The kids put seeds and water in the jar. ... A week later we taste them and include them with sandwiches or use them as a garnish to crostini. The students receive instructions and recipes so they can duplicate it at home."

Craft tool in arsenal

"My brother and I were always creating things as kids, and I remember my grandmother using mason jars for canning. I love how they have now become useful in all parts of the home, and I see them as a great tool in the craft arsenal," says Donaldson.

"Mason Jar Crafts," which will be released in May, is divided into six sections including weddings, parties, kids, and storage and organization. A piggy bank project (below) is one of the 35 in the book.

What started as a cottage industry of mason jar transformations has quickly become an entry point for entrepreneurs, who are churning out everything from pump dispensers to sippy lids to leather holsters and cocktail shakers funded by Kickstarter pitches.

It's easy to be nostalgic while clinging to a hand-milled-coffee-filled mason jar mug and reflecting on a seemingly simpler and wholesome past. But even John Landis Mason suffered from the cruelty of one of our greatest American inventions: capitalism. After losing sole rights to his jar in 1879, competitors put him out of business. He died in poverty in 1902- a sad twist all too common in America's dog-eat-dog marketplace.

Mason holster

Who knew that you could look so cool drinking a hot or cold beverage out of a mason jar? Apparently, Marsh Gooding and Bobby Paulus did when they started their Vermont company, Holdster, last year. Their Ohio-produced leather holder comes in four styles, displaying either a stitch or rivet design, and both can come with or without a leather handle. Like a good pair of jeans, these holders will only get better with age. $22-$32. Available online. www.holdsterusa.com.

Soap dispenser

Alissa Anderson's Inner Richmond's shop and studio, Foggy Notion, is full of repurposed mason jar items and accessories. Her mason jar soap dispenser can also be used for lotions and other pumpable bath items. But why stop there? Use it for condiments like ketchup and mustard ... wait, I mean sriracha and gochujang. Anderson's assortment includes new jars and collectible vintage blue jars. $14-$24. Foggy Notion, 275 Sixth Ave. No. 101, San Francisco; (415) 683-5654. www.foggy-notion.com

Mason jar motif

New Jersey graphic designer and illustrator C.S. Kennedy is a big fan of the horror genre, mostly for its absurdity. His "Eyeball in Mason Jar" illustration can be applied to shirts, tote bags and stretched canvas. It's shown here on a pillow cover made of 100 percent spun polyester poplin and measures 16 inches square. $20. Available online. society6.com/CSKennedy/Eyeball-in-Mason-Jar_Pillow

Cluster chandelier

Search "mason jar" on Etsy and more than 18,000 items pop up. Buried within those shops is Shelli Worley's Worley's Lighting. Her mason jar Cluster Chandelier is just one of several light fixtures in her shop that incorporate the mason jar. Worley designs and creates all of her light fixtures from her Charlotte, N.C., home studio, with the help of her husband, Seth. Lead time on these can take up to 10 days once ordered. $140. Available online. www.worleyslighting.etsy.com

Lid adapter

Replace a mason jar's metal lid with Cuppow's nifty adapter and you have a pourable and sippable container. It's U.S.A.-made with BPA-free materials and is reviving the jar's utilitarian, everyday appeal. The sip-style lid is held in place by the mason jar's screw-on ring. This Massachusetts company cleverly repurposes scrap cutouts from packaging and converts them to business cards. Lids come in regular and wide-mouth jar sizes, and Cuppow is expanding the line with cozies and colorful accessories. $10. Foggy Notion, 275 Sixth Ave. No. 101, San Francisco; (415) 683-5654. www.foggy-notion.com. Available online at www.cuppow.com.

Coffee grinder

For those who like to work for their daily dose of joe, Red Rooster's Camano Coffee Mill not only grinds coffee beans in a U.S.A.-made conical burr grinder but also incorporates a mason jar in its design. Justin and Britta Burrus, a Missouri husband-and-wife team, started their business in 2010 when a friend approached them inquiring about modifying and distributing his unique mill concept. Three years later the Camano, along with the company's Mabana Pepper Mill, is selling out nationwide. The coffee mill and attached lid come with a 16-ounce Ball Elite jar, but any wide-mouth jar can be used. $65. Available at Sightglass Coffee Roasters, 270 Seventh St., San Francisco; (415) 861-1313. www.redroostertradingcompany.com

Cocktail shaker

What is it about boys and their drinks? Bonding over college antics at the University of Virginia and a love for Southern cocktails, Eric Prum and Joshua Williams were also building a business relationship that ultimately led them to their Mason Shaker. The concept of using a mason jar as a cocktail shaker was refined over a two-year period, and it took less than a month to generate almost $80,000 on Kickstarter. Rapid funding and a simultaneous launch on West Elm's Market division right before the holidays quickly depleted their inventory. With a little retooling and an expanded Brooklyn warehouse, they are fully stocked and ready for orders. Check out their website for monthly cocktail recipes from nearby Brooklyn drinking establishments and an expanding line of Prum-designed products. $29. Available at A & G Merch, 2279 Market St., San Francisco; (415) 503-1173. www.masonshaker.com

Piggy Bank Jar

From the upcoming book "Mason Jar Crafts," by Lauren Elise Donaldson (Ulysses Press; May 2013; $14.95), available for preorder through Amazon (amazon.com). Decoupage can be messy, but budding artists will have a lot of fun getting their hands dirty. Just remember to protect your work surfaces and have kids wear aprons as a precaution.

Supplies

Quart-size mason jars with bands

Pink crepe paper roll

2 wine corks

Pink, white and black felt

Pink pipe cleaners

Butcher paper

Erasable fabric-marking pen

Decoupage glue

Tools

Scissors

Hot glue gun and glue sticks

Directions: Remove the lid from the mason jar and save for another use, but keep the metal band and set it aside.

Cut each wine cork in half. These will be the feet and base for the pig. Hot-glue the four cork pieces to the side of the jar. Position them so that the pig will be stable.

Cut the crepe paper roll into many small pieces about 2 inches square. The squares do not need to be perfect.

Cover your work surface with butcher paper. Set out the jar on your covered surface. Dip a square of tissue paper into the decoupage glue and apply it to the jar. Continue this process until a single layer of tissue covers the entire jar. Remember to wrap the wine corks in tissue too. Let this layer dry thoroughly. Later come back and apply a second coat of tissue squares. More layers of tissue will produce a pinker pig. Be sure to let it completely dry before proceeding to the next steps.

Draw a 4-inch circle on the pink felt with the fabric pen, and cut the circle out. Cut a small slit for the pig's mouth. Make sure it is large enough for coins and folded bills to pass through. Draw two equal triangles on the pink felt for the pig's ears and cut them out. Draw two smaller triangles on the white felt and cut them out. On the black felt, draw and cut out two small circles for the pig's eyes, and two slightly larger circles for its nose.

Place the pink felt circle over the mouth of the jar and screw on the metal band to hold it in place.

Hot-glue the white parts of the ears to the pink parts, and then hot-glue both to the pig's head. Hot-glue the eyes below the ears. Finally, hot-glue the nostrils just above the mouth opening.

To make the tail, curl a pink pipe cleaner and hot-glue it to the back of the pig.

Pass coins and bills through the mouth of the pig. Unscrew the band and remove the pink felt circle to access the money.

Tips: Use different colors of tissue paper and felt and modify the shapes of the ears to create various animals. Use a brown color scheme and rounded ears to make a bear. Cut long, floppy ears and use a cotton ball to make a bunny. Get creative.

Once the decoupage glue is dry, have kids write their names with a marker on the side of the bank.